Blood obtaining instrument



April 29, 1952 G. w. DERRICK BLOOD OBTAINING INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 5, 1950 INVENToR. GEORGE W. DERRICK ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a blood obtaining instrument by means of which a specimen of blood may be withdrawn from the body of a human being or of an animal and deposited into a receptacle which may thereafter be easily removed to a laboratory or other convenient place for an analysis of the blood specimen.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an instrument for obtaining blood specimens which is simple, durable and economical in construction, and wherein the parts thereof may be quickly and easily assembled or disassembled.

In carrying out the above mentioned objects 1 have provided a blood obtaining instrument which comprises a hypodermic needle, a glass receptacle for the blood specimen, and a simply constructed manually operated suction device for producing a partial vacuum in the glass receptacle.

Another object of the invention resides in providing an instrument of the character above referred to with a simple connecting means whereby the hypodermic needle and the suction device may be readily operatively connected to the glass receptacle, such connecting means being so constructed and arranged that the nee-Y dle and suction device may be removed from operative relation with the receptacle without momentarily subjecting the blood content thereof to outside atmospheric conditions, thereby eliminating possible contamination of the specimen.

Other objects and advantages of the instrument pertaining to its specic construction and to the form and relation of the parts thereof will more clearly appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the novel instrument made according to my invention, a portion thereof being shown in eleva-4 tion. i

Figure 2 is an elevation, partially in section, of a glass receptacle after it has been removed from the suction producing device.

Figure 3 illustrates the suction producing device in elevation detached from the glass receptacle, a portion thereof being broken away.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Figure l, illustrating a modied structure of my invention.

The instrument, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, comprises a receptacle It and a suction device l I. The receptacle Ill is a tubular member having a closed bottom I2 and an open top I3, the same being made of glass or other suitable material, and preferably in the form of a test tube. The open top I3 of the receptacle I0 is closed by an end cap or stopper element I4 composed of relatively soft rubber or other suitable resilient material. The end cap i4 has a pair of axially disposed orices I5 and I3 extending inwardly from the top and bottom ends thereof respectively, and which are separated by a relatively narrow wall or partition I'I, as more clearly seen in Figure 2.

The suction device iI comprises an L-shaped header I9 having an L-shaped passage 20 extending therethrough. The shorter leg 2l of the header I9 is connected by a tube junction 22 to one end of a syringe bulb 23. The other or lower end of the bulb 23 has a valve structure 25 arranged to prevent entrance of air therethrough to the interior of the bulb 23 but permits the free exit of air from the interior of said bulb. The longer leg 25 of header I9 has an inwardly extending conical aperture 26 having communicationwith the adjacent end of passage 20. A ring-like support or head 23 is provided with a conical shaped projection or nipple 29 extending outwardly from one side thereof adapted to extend into the aperture 26 into functional engagement with the wall of said aperture.

A passage 30 in the projection 29 has its inner end communicating. with a suction tube 3l -mounted in the head 28 to project downwardly therefrom. The support or head 28 has` a substantially axially disposed conical bore 32 extending therethrough. A hypodermic needle 34 has a conical sleeve 35 mounted thereon which is adapted to extend into the bore 32 for frictionally connecting the needle with the head 28. The needle 34 and sleeve 35 may be secured together as by electric welding, brazing or the like. The lower ends of the suction tube 3l and needle 34 have needle points 34 and 3l respectively, which provide for the easy penetration of these members through the wall I'I of the cap I4. The receptacle I0, cap or stopper I4, needle 34, and suction tube 3I are thus held in connected relation with each other with an air-tight joint or seal between them.

When the suction device II, needle 34, and receptacle I9 are assembled as shown in Figure 1 the operator may cause the hypodermic needle to penetrate a blood vein from which it is desired to obtain a specimen. The syringe bulb 23 may now be collapsed, if this has not already been accomplished, to cause its air content to pass out through valved opening 25. Release of the bulb will now close valved opening 25 as the bulb returns to its normal form and cause air to be drawn from the interior of receptacle I0 out through tube 3I and passages 33 and 2) to the interior of the bulb 23, thus creating a reduction of the atmospheric pressure within the receptacle, thereby inducing a suction action in needle 34 which quickly withdraws blood from the vein. The blood `thus withdrawn ows through the needle 34 into the receptacle i0 and thus is deposited a specimen B within said receptacle.

After a specimen B is thus obtained, the receptacle and its stopper |4 are withdrawn from needle 34 and suction tube 3|. It will be understood that stopper |4 will remain in place on the receptacle I0 due to the greater surface contact thereof with the receptacle than with the needle and suction tube. As the needle 34 and suction tube 3| are thus removed from the stopper |4 the holes in the stopper produced by the needle and tube are immediately closed due to the inherent nature of the material composing the stopper. The closed receptacle I0, with its contents of blood specimen B, may now be removed to a convenient place for tests and examination. In the meantime the suction device and needle 34 may be assembled with a second receptacle I0 by the insertion of the needle 34 and suction tube 3| through the wall |1 of the stopper for the receptacle. It is thus seen that this instrument may be used over and over again for obtaining blood specimens in rapid succession which is particularly desirable in instances when making a multiplicity of blood tests as in recording the health condition of a ock of poultry or the like.

In the modied structure shown in Figure 4 the header as 38 has a cylindrical case 33, in lieu of syringe bulb 23, secured, as by screw threads 40, to the shorter leg 4| of header 38. The case 39 has a piston chamber 42 in which is reciprocally mounted a piston 43 having the rod 44 thereof extending downward through a suitable aperture in an end cap 45. The lower end of the piston rod 44 is xedly connected by an arm 46 to the lower end of a vertically disposed plunger 41 slidably mounted in a bore 48 provided in the cylinder case 39 in parallel spaced relation with piston chamber 42. The upper end of the bore 48 is closed by a nut 48 through which the plunger 41 extends and by which it is guided. The upper end of plunger 41 may, as shown, be provided with a nger piece 50. A spring 5| in the piston chamber 42 normally urges the piston 43 to its upper or innermost position. A valved passage 53 in piston 43 provides for the free passage of air from the inner end of the piston chamber to the outer end thereof as the piston moves inwardly. One or more vents 54 in cap 45 provide for the free passage of air from the lower end of the piston chamber 42 as the piston 43 is moved outwardly against the action of spring 5|.

The instrument shown in Figure 4 is used substantially the same as that illustrated in Figure l described above, with the exception that a minus pressure is produced in the receptacle |11 by exerting downward pressure on finger piece 50 and therefore piston 43 as is believed to be obvious.

Although I have shown and particularly described the preferred embodiment of my'invention and a modification thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the exact structure shown as it is obvious that other changes both in form and relation of the parts thereof may be readily made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A blood obtaining device, comprising, in combination, a fluid receptacle having an airtight stopper for effectively maintaining the interior of said fluid receptacle in a sterile condition, a suction device comprising a header having a passage extending therethrough connected to a source of vacuum, iluid conveying means including a suction tube operatively connecting the suction device with the receptacle in sterile relation to said interior of the receptacle, a surgical needle pointed at both ends, one end of said needle being disposed in the iiuid receptacle through the air-tight stopper and the other end adapted for direct insertion into the vein from which a blood sample is drawn, said stopper element having a needle and suction tube receiving portion so constructed and arranged that the receptacle may be disconnected from said needle and suction tube without breaking the fluid seal of said receptacle.

2. A blood obtaining device, comprising, in combination, a iiuid receptacle having an airtight stopper for effectively maintaining the interior of said fluid receptacle in a sterile condition, a suction device comprising a header having a passage extending therethrough connected to a source of vacuum, fluid conveying means including a suction tube operatively connecting the suction device with the receptacle in sterile relation to said interior of the receptacle, a surgical needle pointed at both ends, one end of said needle being disposed in the fluid receptacle through the air-tight stopper and the other end adapted for direct insertion into the vein from which a blood sample is drawn, said stopper element having a needle and suction tube receiving portion so constructed and arranged that the receptacle may be disconnected from said needle and suction tube without breaking the fluid seal of said receptacle, whereby the needle and said tube may simultaneously be inserted through the air-tight stopper.

3. A blood obtaining device, comprising, in combination, a fluid receptacle having an airtight stopper for effectively maintaining the interior of said fluid receptacle in a sterile condition, a suction device comprising a header having an L-shaped passage extending therethrough connected to a source of vacuum, fluid conveying means including a suction tube operatively connecting the suction device with the receptacle in sterile relation to said interior of the receptacle, a surgical needle pointed at both ends, one end of said needle being disposed in the fluid receptacle through the air-tight stopper and the other end adapted for direct insertion into the vein from which a blood sample is drawn, said stopper element having a needle and suction tube receiving portion so constructed and arranged that the receptacle may be disconnected from said needle and suction tube without breaking the iluid seal of said receptacle.

GEORGE W. DERRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,231,564 Cooksey Feb. 11, 1941 2,460,641 Kleiner Feb. l, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 93,896 Sweden Sept. 1, 1938 

